John "Budgie" Byrne, who has died aged 60 of a heart attack in South Africa, might be described as a gifted nearly man of football. His exceptional talents were never in doubt but, although he won 11 caps and scored eight goals for England, he never fully established himself at international level.

Things might have been different if only he had figured, as he surely should have done, in the 1962 World Cup in Chile. It seemed likely that he would. He had just been transferred across London from Crystal Palace, where he had made his name, to West Ham United, for what was then a record fee of £65,000.

But at West Bromwich, in a game against Albion, he had been involved in a fracas in the tunnel, at the end of the 90 minutes, with Don Howe, the West Bromwich and former England right-back. Word was that the powers that be at the Football Association - where a selection committee still, nominally at least, pick the team - were displeased by this, and consequently excluded him.

Technically lesser talents than Byrne, such as Gerry Hitchens and Alan Peacock, were preferred as designated centre forwards. When he heard about this, before the third-place match in Santiago, Milovan Ciric, the Yugolav manager, told me, with disdain: "This is a game for men, not for saints and women."

Born in Sussex, Byrne was precociously successful at Crystal Palace. A very modern type of attacker, standing only 5ft 8in but weighing 11.5 stone, he was adept at dropping off his marker, finding space, and either launching a colleague with an inspired pass, or using his own pace, skill and powerful right foot to set off for goal himself.

Altogether, in domestic football, he would score 108 goals in 190 games. The nickname "Budgie" was the result of his incessant, cheerful chattering. He was always a genial soul.

In May 1964, Byrne led the West Ham attack in the FA Cup final against Preston North End, and scored their crucial third goal in a 3-2 victory, making, as usual, good use of his exceptional balance and finesse.

That success put West Ham into the European Cup Winners' Cup the following season. They made an indifferent start against the modest Belgians of La Gantoise, Byrne scoring their only goal in a disappointing 1-1 second leg draw at Upton Park. He scored again in the third round, when they won 2-1 in Lausanne, but missed the Wembley final and the 2-0 victory over Munich 1860.

First capped for England in 1961 - for the game against Northern Ireland and while still at Crystal Palace - Byrne had to wait till April 1964 for his next cap, against Scotland, at Hampden Park, when he led England's attack in a 1-0 defeat. The following season he helped England beat Wales at Wembley, a game in which he figured at inside left, a position he could fill quite happily; indeed, he was at inside left at Wembley again the following April for a 2-2 draw against the Scots - in a season in which he comfortably led West Ham's first division scorers with 25 goals.

That proved to be the last of Byrne's 11 international caps. He returned to Crystal Palace, would eventually go to play in South Africa, put on an impressive amount of weight around the middle, and go into football management. At the time of his death, he was running the Hellenic club.

Bobby Moore, the famous captain of West Ham, and of England's 1966 and 1970 World Cup teams, was a close friend. It is recorded that the two men once sat in the gloaming of a warm South African night when Moore said, envisaging a partnership in management: "You and me, Budgie, you and me!"

Alas, it was never to be, and Byrne never appeared in the World Cup finals either. He is survived by his wife Margot, three sons and a daughter.